$&#*!

Complain, complain, complain. That’s all I usually do. The Cavs can’t score; the Cavs can’t defend; the Cavs can’t even make a turkey and swiss sandwich without taking most of the night off.
But… It’s getting late, I’m headed under the knife in the morning (closest I’ll ever get to being a ballplayer), and I need to get some more work done, so I’ll keep this brief.

By extolling the positives.

Tonight the Cavs kept it tight against one of the best teams in the league, falling only on a buzzer beater. And it was a well-earned buzzer beater. Sure, David West’s shot was wide open, but that’s only because everybody kept disciplined in their assignments and a great point guard made a great pass.

In fact, we did a pretty good job on Chris Paul all night. After all, if all you get are layups, not even I would go 5-17. Ok, maybe I would go 5-17 – if they were right-handed layups. The reality is that the Cavs played tight D all night, allowing very few easy baskets to one of the (probably THE) best creator in the game.

We blew a few assignments boxing out in the 4th – I think the Hornets pulled down half their offensive boards in the last 6 minuts – but we DID dominate the glass against a team known to have a plus front court in All-star David West and snub Tyson Chandler.

Really, our only defensive fault was a little too much sagging off of Peja in search of a help block. 2 blocks vs. 6-9 from deep… Must’ve been a hiccup in the high basketball IQ.

We even managed to get it done offensively. For most of the night, Z was the focal point of the offense and he was on. My criticism last time we were in this scenario was that Z would never get the shots he should while Lebron would hoist upwards of 20 and make far fewer than half. Not tonight. Z took 5 more shots than the King, while the L-Train did his damage from the line.

We killed the offensive glass, moved the ball and limited our turnovers, en route to coming up one point short of giving the fans some chalupas and overtime.

I won’t get in to why we lost or why we should have won. The Hornets are a great team, with 4 legitimate quality players ranging from the aging Peja to MVP candidate Chris Paul.

If this was a 7 game finals series, I’d like our chances. It could happen.

Next up is the Pistons. The Cavs still haven’t lost 3 in a row with Lebron at the helm, a streak I’d like to keep up through June.

Go Cavs!

Battle of the Heavyweights

Tonight in the NBA there is potential finals preview and everybody is a buzz. That’s right, Phoenix is headed to Boston. Meanwhile, news out of Cleveland is that Joe Tait will be announcing his 3000th game. Huzzah! I wonder who the Cleveland Gladiators are taking on tonight.

In fact, the Cavs/Hornets game is as likely a finals preview as any possible NBA game, as it pits the the leaders of the West against last year champions of the East. What has Boston or Phoenix done for me lately? If you were a betting man, would you really put money on either to go all the way? No, you wouldn’t. And if you would, please get in touch with me.

The Cavs statistical numbers are very much as the same as ever: 89.1 possessions per game, 23rd “fastest” in the league, 107.8 points per 100 possiessions, 17th, and 108.2 points allowed per 100, 12th.

The Hornets operate in a similar manner, but more efficiently. They keep it slow, because in the end, Chris Paul can beat you: 88.2 possessions, 27th in the league. The score with an underrated big man and shooter (right now, would you rather have Wally or Peja?): 113 PP100, 6th. And they defend, with Tyson Chandler patrolling the paint: 106.6 PAP100, 5th. But they’re also coming off a tight game in Indy last night. However, unlike the Cavs, they’re 7-3 on the back end, on the road. (Only the Cavs and lousy teams make that excuse. We’re not lousy, we just play possum. And I’ve never seen a Celtic, Piston or Laker kill a possum. Suckers.)

Go Cavs!